FS Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSBW) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Key Points

• FS Bancorp experienced a significant decrease in short interest, dropping by 19.3% in August, with 68,400 shares shorted as of August 31st.
• CEO Joseph C. Adams sold 14,646 shares at approximately $41.83 each, resulting in a total of about $612,642 and a 13.03% reduction in his ownership stake.
• The company's latest quarterly earnings exceeded expectations, reporting $0.99 earnings per share and a revenue of $37.28 million, above the analysts' forecast.

FS Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSBW - Get Free Report) saw a significant drop in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 68,400 shares, a drop of 19.3% from the August 15th total of 84,800 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 16,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.2 days. Currently, 1.0% of the company's stock are short sold. Currently, 1.0% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 16,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.2 days.

Insider Activity at FS Bancorp

In other news, CEO Joseph C. Adams sold 14,646 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.83, for a total transaction of $612,642.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 97,775 shares in the company, valued at $4,089,928.25. This represents a 13.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have sold 37,500 shares of company stock worth $1,529,937. Corporate insiders own 12.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FSBW. Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its stake in FS Bancorp by 16.4% during the 2nd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 1,746 shares of the bank's stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC bought a new stake in FS Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $74,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in FS Bancorp by 489.3% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,980 shares of the bank's stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 1,644 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of FS Bancorp by 55.5% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 4,190 shares of the bank's stock worth $172,000 after purchasing an additional 1,495 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Agate Pass Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of FS Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $206,000. 63.88% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

FS Bancorp Trading Up 2.8%

Shares of FSBW stock traded up $1.14 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $42.35. 26,235 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,783. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $41.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.49. FS Bancorp has a 1-year low of $34.61 and a 1-year high of $49.15. The company has a market cap of $321.86 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.06 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

FS Bancorp (NASDAQ:FSBW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $37.28 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $36.55 million. FS Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.32% and a net margin of 15.88%. On average, research analysts anticipate that FS Bancorp will post 4.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FS Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 7th were given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 7th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. FS Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is 26.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on FSBW. DA Davidson lifted their price target on FS Bancorp from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of FS Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $44.00.

About FS Bancorp

FS Bancorp, Inc operates as a bank holding company for 1st Security Bank of Washington that provides banking and financial services to local families, local and regional businesses, and industry niches. The company operates in two segments, Commercial and Consumer Banking; and Home Lending. It offers various deposit instruments, including checking accounts, money market deposit accounts, savings accounts, and certificates of deposit.

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